Chapter Two

 

 

Six years at Jiadoro Academy had taught Elly a lot. She was not a natural horsewoman, though she could manage, she still didn’t like social studies, but the fey version was more titillating, and half-elves were just as bitchy as humans. Music was the best part of her education.

She sat out in the meadow, and she played for the horses one last time.

M’wellin rode up on his favourite horse, Dekko, and he stopped and listened as she played. When she stopped, he exhaled slowly. “So, have you gotten your assignment?”

“Yeah. I am going to court. Apparently, my father is ready to claim me.”

M’wellin dismounted and crouched next to her. “He claimed you four years ago when we first located him. He just didn’t want to upset your education.”

“What?”

“You heard me. His clan has their own tutors. You would have been taken to court and played until the rich and bored were tired of your efforts. Now, you can go there as a master of your craft. You only play for exorbitant fees. That is our contribution to your situation.”

She nodded. “That was what I learned in history. So, because Nidiada is the talent sorcerer for the court, I get master status and a hefty pay schedule?”

He grinned. “You read that as well?”

“Norfolk’s history of the fey. She is in a portrait, standing next to the king.”

“Ah. See, history is good for something.”

She smiled and looked around. “I am going to miss it here.”

“You are welcome to return whenever you like. I would love to hear of your adventures.”

Elly nodded. “I just have one more question.”

“Certainly.”

“What did you do to get stuck here educating the bastards of the nobility? And why did you come and retrieve me? The musicians are not nobility. They mix with humans all the time. No one takes care of the by-blows.”

“You did do your research.”

“Of course. So, what happened, and why me?”

“I attempted to pursue a lady above my status, and her fiancé was not happy. As for you, the fey have seers, and they told us that you were on the way. We came to get you because we were told to.”

She blinked and set her violin back in its case. “So, the only answer I get there is if I go and ask them.”

“They are under a lot of security, so you might not gain access.”

Elly locked the case. “I am getting the feeling that they want me somewhere, so they are going to have to talk to me about it.”

He grinned. “Just don’t get into trouble. The court has regulations.”

“I know. I do far better with curtsies than I do with horses.” She stuck out her hand. “Thanks. For everything.”

He grinned and took her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “You are welcome, young lady.”

She inclined her head and withdrew her fingers from his. “Please, sir, my family has not authorized our interaction.”

He leaned back and laughed. “Yes, you have definitely paid attention.”

 

She was transported directly to the court, and she met her fey family for the first time.

The man who stepped forward had golden hair and gleaming eyes that she was now used to seeing in the mirror.

“Father.” She went down on one knee.

“Rise, daughter. Elenora, you are so like your mother. I am Akin of the Veriman clan. This is my mother, Lidi, my sister, Imada, and my other sister, Feema. Ladies, this is my daughter, Elenora.”

Elly felt the cold assessment of her female side of the family. “I am pleased to meet you all.”

“Do you have the letter from the school?” Akin smiled.

“Oh, of course.” She fished out the letter and handed it to him, watching as he cracked the scroll.

His shoulders slumped in relief. “Master of nine instruments, fully versed in etiquette and your first performance in front of the king is later this evening. Excellent.”

She nodded. “I have a few pieces selected, but of course, he can choose what he wishes.”

Lidi looked at her in shock. “You are performing for the king? So soon?”

“My instructor gauged me to be suitable for it, so she made the arrangements. This is my audition as his personal musician.” She was wary.

Akin smiled and offered her his arm. “I will show you your quarters. Did they send you with appropriate clothing?”

“Yes, Father. I am ready.”

“You must have many questions.”

“Not many. I have my mother’s journal. I knew that she didn’t tell you, that she didn’t want to tell you. But, she was alone in the world, and that makes me a little sad. I know she felt better toward the end of her pregnancy, but I wish she had survived it.”

He nodded and brushed at a tear. “I returned to town two years later and found her grave. The local priest told me that the child had died with her. I am guessing that he lied.”

“Pretty sure he did. He was not kind to her while she was alive, and he was probably worse once she was dead. It was just luck that I ended up at St. Agnes’. That was the work of the social worker who had spoken with my mother in hospital. She set things in motion before I was around.”

“Your mother did not wish to raise you?”

“She wasn’t ready for me. She was in her early twenties. She wanted to live life, not be a mother. Don’t get me wrong, she loved me, but she wanted to see me when I was grown, not be with me along the way.”

He smiled. “Abigale loved her life. Our association was short, but we enjoyed each other.”

Elly twisted her lips. “As I am living proof. So, Nidiada warned me that the king is moody.”

“He is. There are still no candidates for a queen, and he is pressuring the seers to find someone on a weekly basis. You are going to be a new toy.”

She nodded. “How long do I have to get ready to perform?”

“Three hours. Your quarters are in the clan quarters on the far side of the compound. The days that you perform, you will prepare here at the court. Clothing will be provided to you so that you will match the theme of the day.”

She nodded again. “Who is the current court musician?”

“Adoree Veriman, your second cousin.”

“Does she know I am here?”

“No. You are a surprise to all outside our immediate family and the king.”

“Oh. Goody.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Not really. I am eager to play.” She surprised herself that she actually was.

“Good. Let’s get you ready, and then, we wait for him to summon us.”

“Sounds fair. Oh, and Father?”

He jolted as if he wasn’t used to the sound. “Yes?”

“Glad to finally meet you.” She squeezed his arm.

He looked as if she had struck him on the head with a bat and a foolish grin spread across his features. “I am glad I finally got the nerve to say hello.”

That was a confusing sentence, but they passed the guard into the court lodgings, and he searched her bags. He found a harp, a violin, a flute and an MP3 player. The fey grinned, nodded and sent her on her way.

 

Her father had to wait outside the court on a chair as she walked into the audience chamber. She had her violin tuned and the flute ready in a bag at her waist.

She walked through the crowd, weaving in and out of the assembled nobles, before positioning herself in front of the king. When his head turned toward her, she went into a deep curtsy.

“Ah, the new minstrel. A master, I hear.” He chuckled.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What do you have for me?”

She remained in her curtsy, hours of practice paying off. “What are you in the mood for?”

He cocked his head. “I have just gotten some good news, so something human.”

“Would you like it as is, or may I rise?”

The assembled courtiers gasped.

The king laughed. “Rise and take a comfortable position.”

She stood and lifted her violin to her shoulder, setting her chin in the rest. “Shall I begin?”

He nodded, and she drew the bow across the strings in a jolting beginning to a power ballad that sent a ripple of silence through the chamber.

When she was done, she paused and raised her brow. “Something more traditional?”

He grinned. “No, continue with the human songs. I enjoy them.”

 

Elly spent the next five years playing for the king and his visitors. She was witness to clan wars, weddings, council meetings and the visits from the envoys of the shifters.

Raised primarily as a human, Elly had been shocked to find out that dragons, wolves, beavers and other mythical shapeshifting creatures all lived alongside humanity in human societies. She had kept her composure when the visitors made requests, and she played traditional selections on flute or violin. Now and then, she would be asked to work on the harp, but the king preferred that she be able to back against a wall for better acoustics.

“Are you willing to do this?” The king asked her quietly. The room around them was full of pointed ears trying to hear what they were saying.

Elly was tuning her violin, which was odd as she never did it in front of the king.

“I am. Is there a reason not to go?”

“There have been nightmares beating at our gates for the last five years. They will be able to find you.”

She nodded. “I know. I can feel them, and I have been targeted before. They will torture me for a while, and then, their summoning will be over.”

He sighed. “Do you know who called them?”

“I have a good idea but no concrete proof. The persons involved have now changed social status.”

He sighed again. “Your clan.”

“Correct. I am a halfling no matter what my mastery of music says. I think I will enjoy the break from the court.”

“You will be missed.”

“You have the recordings, Your Majesty.”

“Changing the crystals will not be the same as asking you to switch from human to fey classics.” He smiled slightly.

“Yes, but knowing that you will hold auditions instead of just assigning the next free Veriman family member warms my heart.” She lifted her violin and played an old fey tune for the gathered exotic population. Shifters were mixing with the fey now, and their children were adorable. They were a bright spot in the king’s birthday party.

Once she finished with the fey music, she turned to human-fey children and began to play human music to them and their parents. Their mothers swayed with the little ones in her arms, and the toddlers were holding onto their parents’ legs. She knelt and played, letting the little ones touch her violin and watching their eyes widen as they took in the correlation between the music and the carved wooden box.

In a break from her normal patterns, she wandered around the rest of the gathering, looking at friends, strangers and all of those who were there to either celebrate or curry favour with the sovereign of the fey.

Elly smiled. She was just there to play the music, so location was not her main concern. A shift to the Crossroads would be an interesting change of pace, and it might stop her kinsman from trying to kill her.